Sitting under a full moon at night can be incredibly romantic and entertaining guests outdoors can be incredibly fun… until the clouds obscure the moon and the stars, leaving all life below sitting in total darkness.
Luckily for us, the days of plain, uninteresting white security lighting are far behind us and have been replaced with stylish designs that allow the comfort of your home to extend outside its four walls. When carefully chosen, artificial exterior lighting can be just as cozy and romantic as natural light. From porch lights to patio lights, exterior lighting illuminates the darkness to welcome guests to your home.
Using Outdoor Lighting to Illuminate Your Space
Outdoor lighting has the potential to transform a dark and dismal space into a bright and cozy, communal area that you love to spend time in – day and night. Exterior lighting adds life and soul to your property, transforming it from a house to a home. But that’s by no means the only function. Carefully chosen outdoor lighting can also:
- Deter suspicious behavior and enhance security
- Accentuate your garden’s landscape design
- Create a comfortable and cozy ambience
Whether you aim to enhance security or create a welcoming space to host guests, these five tips will help you to select the best exterior lighting to illuminate your outdoor space.
1. Think about styling
With various styles of external lighting to choose from, homeowners often find themselves spoilt for choice. Though it’s tempting to buy a multipack of lights to arrange haphazardly around your property, carefully selected outdoor lighting has the potential to enhance your unique style and amplify the aesthetic of your home.
Embrace your personal style
Embracing your personal style is a great way to showcase your creative flair and transform your garden into an extended part of your home. If you’re a maximalist at heart, chandeliers are a bold and playful way to add depth to your external space effortlessly. Conversely, minimalists can opt for sleek and symmetrically-placed wall lights to add a subtle touch of sophistication to a patio or porch.
Co-ordinate indoors and outdoors
To create a seamless transition between indoors and outdoors, your exterior lighting should coordinate with your interior décor. This means opting for consistency by choosing outdoor lighting fixtures that are the same or a similar style to those in your home.
For example, lantern-style outdoor lighting fixtures complement traditional and farmhouse-styled homes, whilst clean, geometric design exterior lighting fixtures are well-suited to homes with contemporary and minimalistic furnishings. By choosing outdoor lighting that complements your interior style, you’ll easily transfer the homely ambience of your home to your outside space.
2. Shop with measurements in mind
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to exterior lighting, and choosing the right sized outdoor lighting fixtures can make a significant difference to your external space. While oversized patio lights may overwhelm a smaller-sized, modern porch, a minimalistic outdoor flush mount will be lost on a grand porch entrance.
It’s always best to select your lighting fixtures in relation to the size of the space you’re placing them in. A large pendant piece is sure to make the best possible impact under the large and open space of a pergola whereas flush mounts are most effective in small porches to direct the gaze to your beautiful surroundings.
3. Consider the atmosphere
The temperature of your outdoor lighting makes all the difference when creating your desired ambience.
Warm Toned
Warm-toned bulbs are the perfect option for exterior lighting fixtures centered in outdoor living spaces. Warm white and yellow-toned lighting set a cozy and comfortable ambience that’s well-suited to hosting and entertaining guests under the stars. We recommend opting for outdoor lighting with kelvins of between 2,000 and 3,000 for a soft white cozy glow that your guests will love.
Cool Toned
Cool white or blue-toned lighting, on the other hand, exudes a crisp and clean light that illuminates the darkness. Cool-toned exterior lighting is best suited to patio, porch, and front-of-house fixtures that are carefully placed for security and navigation purposes.
4. Positioning
Exterior lighting should be installed to suit its intended effect, with wall lights or flush mounts aptly placed on your porch to enhance security and pendant lights hung above outdoor living areas to charm your guests.
When carefully positioned, exterior lighting has the potential to enhance security, create the perfect ambience for entertaining, and highlight the beautiful features of your home and garden.
5. Work with your property’s unique features
Though Pinterest is a great source of inspiration, remember to tweak your outdoor lighting ideas to suit your unique space. Think practically about your home’s features before selecting outdoor lighting fixtures to accentuate them.
Gardens with sturdy patio covers like pergolas are perfect for hanging statement pendants. Whether taking centerstage above a comfortable sofa set or a dining area, pendants and chandeliers are sure to add a touch of glamour. While open outdoor spaces without shelter aren’t the most practical for pendant or chandelier lighting fixtures, large patio areas look simply superb when illuminated by wall lights.
The importance of outdoor lighting
Whether searching to add pendants and chandeliers to your outdoor living space, or wall lights for the porch, outdoor lighting has the potential to illuminate your home and create a cozy, welcoming ambience that’s perfect for hosting.
2E Design exterior lighting
On a mission to bring light to your days and nights, 2E Design has a fantastic range of outdoor lighting to enhance the external aesthetic of your home and create an outstanding first impression. From wall lights to pendants, chandeliers to flush mounts, shop the range of external lighting fixtures here and take inspiration from our authentic and attainable lighting designs.